Autumn Crop, Plant & Produce Swap

The next 'Seedy Sunday' will be over Easter on Sunday 5 April from 10.30am - 12.00nn.

As Sweethearts Cafe will be closed this month and reopening from 15 April, we will be meeting at a temporary alternative venue: Ted and Merryl's place at 33 Greenhaven Close, Burnside (Nambour).

This is an opportunity for a seasonal Autumn Crop, Plant and Produce Swap. So bring along:

• a fold up chair if you have one;
• any seeds you have to process; 
• plants to sell/swap; 
• planting material such as cuttings or tubers; 
• surplus produce; 
• newspaper/carry bag to take goodies home and/or 
• morning tea to share.

Please consider neighbours and access when parking in the street and car pool if possible.

We appreciate Ted and Merryl's hospitality this month. Thanks so much!

Autumn Planting

With slightly cooler and now wet weather, now is the time to get planting autumn crops. Here are a few suggestions:

• Beetroot - Green Harvest advises: "Beetroot 'seeds' are actually cork-like fruit containing 2 to 6 true seeds. Soak seed clusters in warm water for one to two hours then sow 12 mm deep, directly into fertile, well-worked, well-drained soil in a sunny position. Rows should be 30 cm apart; once the seedlings emerge, thin them to 10 cm apart. Avoid adding too much nitrogen as it promotes leaf growth at the expense of root development. Beetroot does well with a soil pH of 6.5 to 7.5. An application of Backyard Blooms will give a potassium boost for more vigorous root growth. Supply trace elements by applying Natrakelp liquid seaweed; it will help with disease resistance too. 

• Harvest the roots in 55 - 70 days, depending on the variety. For sweet and tender beetroot, start harvesting at golf ball size. Beetroot is happy to share a bed with onions, silverbeet, lettuce, cabbage, beans, dill, peas or strawberries."
• Alternatively, grow beetroot as microgreens. Bulls Blood is my favourite to sow for lovely young tender leaves as opposed to roots.

• Garlic - Refrigerate bulbs before planting and wait until the 8-9th April to sow the cloves. See this 5 step tutorial for preparing, planting and harvesting. 

• Peas - Choose climbers if you have the space for a trellis or vertical structure. Dwarf or bush varieties are more compact and suit pots and small spaces. Either way, now's the perfect time to put them in before 3 April. There are many suitable varieties from snow peas to sweet sugar snaps - Green Harvest have seeds available or visit Yandina markets on a Saturday at Dave's stall where he raises heirloom and organic seedlings if you want a head start. Check out this Easy Guide to Growing Peas for tips. 

• Rocket - This peppery salad herb is a cool season favourite. Sow seeds now and they'll be sprouting in 2-3 days. Check out this tutorial for tips.

• Beans - Climbers are generally more prolific over a longer period than bush bean varieties so make your choice depending on space and time you have to put up a trellis.

• Other suggestions include pick 'n' pluck lettuces, cabbage, cauliflower, onions, silverbeet/chard and carrots.

Autumn Activities

• April is one of the worst times of year for White Cabbage butterfly caterpillars. There are many strategies you can use. See Coping with Caterpillars for some suggestions. Land cress (also known as American Upland Cress) has been found to be toxic to the caterpillars so interplanting with your brassica crops may be a quick solution. You can source seeds from The Seed Collection. 

• If scale or aphids are appearing on your citrus or fruit trees, use a hose to remove most of them for a few days or spray with Eco Oil. 

• Take the opportunity to compost excess green waste around your garden. Remove fallen fruit and do a general clean up and mulch. 

• Harvest your basil for pesto now before it starts to die back with cooler weather.

• Dead head marigolds and other flowers. Harvest the seeds.

Current Moon Cycle

To maximise your harvests, consider planting by the moon cycles. We are currently in a period of prolific growth for above ground plants until 3 April so get planting with all that soil moisture!

If you're planning on sowing seeds, seedlings, transplanting, taking cuttings, fertilising or dividing plants - now's the time to do it!

Learn more about the Benefits of Moon Gardening. Moon Calendars are available online any time for $12.50.

Hope to see you at the meeting. Remember to BYO friend and a chair this month!

By Anne Gibson

Outcome of GM Case to Affect Food Safety

As a seed saver and food grower, you are likely worried about the effects of genetically modified crops on your health and the environment. GM is a major threat to food safety world wide and should be of major concern to everyone interested in eating and growing safe food.

The long awaited outcome of the landmark GM Case with Steve Marsh in Western Australia was announced on Wednesday 28 May, 2014. The Guardian summarises the outcome in their article.

This is a brief video with the background on this case:

There is also an interesting article on the history of how the contamination occurred and some of the issues from both sides via Steve Marsh and the Bad Seeds.

True Food Network reports on the impact we will all feel in the safety of our future food system:

GM Farmer's Win is a Loss for all Organic and Non GM Farmers

"Today we are deeply disappointed to inform you that Steve Marsh lost his case to stop GM canola coming on to his farm. The future of organic and non GM food in Australia is uncertain after a WA farmer today lost his legal battle with a neighbouring farmer.

Steve Marsh lost organic certification on his Kojonup farm - and most of his livelihood - when his farm was contaminated by GM canola. He sued his neighbour in the WA Supreme Court for his losses, and to protect his farm into the future.

The court in its summary and judgment stated the decision by NASAA (National Association of Sustainable Agriculture Australia) to decertify Steve was erroneous. Given the extent of the contamination of Steve's farm we fail to see how NASAA could have taken any other decision. Certainly 100% of organic consumers would support the NASAA decision.

Because the court did not recognise the NASAA decertification, the court did not recognise the economic loss Steve suffered, and dismissed the case that Steve had brought for negligence and nuisance.

Scott Kinnear, director of the Safe Food Foundation, says he is very disappointed and gravely concerned for Steve Marsh and his family and their farm and for the future of organic and non GM food in Australia remaining GM free.

"This is a huge setback for organic and Non GM farmers and their choice to remain GM Free."

"This has been an important test case, of interest to many parties, locally and globally.

"If Steve on legal advice chooses to take this case further, the Safe Food Foundation will continue to work to legally protect the rights of Australian consumers to buy organic produce free of GM."

"We also call on our legislators to work on finding a solution to this vexed issue. State and Federal governments have continuously stated that the solution to any GM contamination events is common law. This has clearly failed today and demonstrates that the law has not kept up with new technologies such as GM."

"We thank Steve Marsh who has risked his farm to make a stand for all of us, a move that demonstrated his courage, tenacity and integrity."

Mr Kinnear also thanked Slater & Gordon and the many people and businesses in more than 30 countries who contributed amounts large and small to this landmark case, but warned them that the battle may not be over.

You can follow the story and support Steve via Safe Food Foundation.

While law firm Slater & Gordon donated its legal services, other costs were provided through a unique crowd-sourced funding campaign organised by the Safe Food Foundation.

Prospects of an Appeal: Steve's lawyers will study the judgment and advise Steve of his legal options. We will get back to you if Steve decides to appeal.

Your support to assist us to repay the last of our loans is gratefully appreciated so that we can leap into action to further support Steve if the need arises."

The Safe Food Foundation has a lot of information online about GM and you may find it worth spending time to learn more. Here are some of their resources:

• Research articles and papers on GM
• Links to other anti-GM organisations
• Other Cases of GM Contamination in Australia
• Open Earth Source 'GMO Myths & Truths' - an evidence-based examination of the claims made for the safety and efficacy of genetically modified crops

What can you do?

• Saving and sourcing GM free seed has never been more important than now. Continue to share this information and be diligent about the exact source of the seed you buy and grow in your garden.

• Ensure you ask questions from suppliers and that especially includes buying seedlings from nurseries and retailers who may be selling GM seed raised crops. Even if you raise seedlings organically, you could still be inadvertently contaminating your garden with GM crops.

• There are many local certified organic seed sources - make sure you support these businesses and suppliers so you grow safe food and protect the integrity of our seed bank. This is a constantly updated list of seed suppliers you can refer to and share to buy safe seed.

• Visit True Food Network's list of resources and update yourself on the latest information and ways you can become more informed in your daily decisions.

Tips on Purchasing Seeds

What should a responsible gardener know before buying seeds?

Modern headlines in newspapers, magazines and websites often mention seeds.  From the doomsday seed vault to the "terminator gene" to genetically altered and patented plants, language about seeds and the world seed situation has captured our attention if not our imagination.  Fear abounds.  Calls for corrective action echo across the internet.

The seed market has reacted with banners claiming to point gardeners down the correct path toward salvation.  Rarely, however, do I read something that actually begins to explain what this all means to home gardeners and their need to find seed.  The following signposts are meant for guidance and are at best the place where discussions about correct action begin, not end.

TRADE FOR LOCAL SEEDS

The best way to find the seeds for your garden in to trade some seeds you have grown for the other seeds you need.  I attended a pot luck dinner in Siberia held once a year by seed savers.  Price of admission was a dish for dinner and some seeds saved from your own garden.  Over the next 2 hours or so I saw the most efficient, most complete system I have ever seen for exchanging seeds and the important stories and information needed to go with them.  Gardeners with seeds for the earliest and best tasting tomatoes ranked right up next to the gentleman with watermelon seeds.  They could trade first for anything they wanted.  I heard mumblings of plans for next year when gardeners would return with more of the rarest offering.  If you really want to be a successful gardener and seed saver, attend one of these events in your region.  If one is not available, start one.

BUY FROM SMALL REGIONAL SEED COMPANIES

If you cannot save or trade for all your seeds yet, buy from small seed companies.  The seed industry has become so centralized, only a handful of chemical and pharmaceutical companies now own the majority of the world's seeds.  In the late 1970's, a number of small regional seed companies started to reappear.  All were dedicated at some level to regional self-reliance.  All helped maintain our precious genetic diversity.  All sell some treasures that could probably grow in all of our gardens.  Support these people.  They do good work.

OPEN-POLLINATED

Open-pollinated seeds offer gardeners a predictable path to save their own seeds.  Gardeners can actually improve a variety from year to year  by selecting seeds from open-pollinated plants that do best in their own conditions.

HEIRLOOM

Heirlooms are treasures.  Heirloom seeds are open-pollinated varieties with a history, a story.  Not all open-pollinated varieties are treasures for everyone, everywhere.  Get as much information as you can.

ORGANIC

Buy organic seeds if you can.  We want, we need an agriculture that uses no biocides.  However, the vast majority of the world's seeds are not yet certified organic.  We also need diversity.  The sustainable strength of our agricultural ecosystem will depend on its diversity.  We need to find, grow and test as many different varieties as we can before they disappear.  If we collectively stop buying seeds now because they are not organic, we risk losing the diversity we so desperately need.  If the seeds you really want are not organic, buy them anyway.  Grow them yourself organically and save the organic seeds.

UNTREATED

Buy untreated seeds.  Treated seeds are seeds coated with chemical fungicides or innoculants.   Fungicides are meant to increase germination in cold and wet soil.  Treated seeds, by law, must be dyed.  Chemically treated seeds are not allowed for use on certified, organic gardens and farms.  ALL Seeds Trust seeds are untreated.

NATIVE

Collect your own native seeds if you can.  Local native plant societies are a great place to learn where and what to find and what to leave alone.  Buy natives to experiment with in your own landscape.  Start small.  Expect the project to take longer than you think.  Learn to manage the natural plant succession.  When looking to buy natives remember the following:  The definition of what is native is imprecise.  Natives may take 3-4 years to bloom.  The native seeds and plants you may want not be for sale.  Many non-native plants like lilacs are adapted and easy on your environment.  Avoid non-native pioneer species.

This article has been republished with permission from the Seeds Trust.

We encourage you to connect with your local seed saving group or network. Check our List of Seed Saving Groups in the South East Queensland region for one close to you or visit www.seedsavers.net for other locations.

Please support small local Australian seed suppliers if you are buying seed.